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Reach Out I'll Be There
"Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a 1966 song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland,3 the song is one of the most well-known Motown tunes of the 1960s and is today considered The Tops' signature song. It was the number one song on the Rhythm & Blues charts for two weeks,4 and on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, from October 15–22, 1966. It replaced "Cherish" by The Association, and was itself replaced by "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians. Billboard ranked the record as the no. 4 song for 1966.5 Rolling Stone later ranked this version #206 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". This version is also currently ranked as the 56th best song of all time, as well as the #4 song of 1966, in an aggregation of critics' lists at Acclaimed Music.67 The track also reached no. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Motown's second UK chart-topper after The Supremes hit no. 1 with "Baby Love" in late 1964.8 It had replaced Jim Reeves' "Distant Drums" at number one in October 1966 and stayed there for three weeks before being replaced by The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" in November.9 Contents 1 Style 2 Personnel Style Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that straddles the line between singing and shouting,3 as he did in 1965's "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". AllMusic critic Ed Hogan praises Stubb's vocal, as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-operatic tension and release."10 Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains Four Tops' signature tune."11 In 2014, interviewed by The Guardian, Four Tops singer Duke Fakir said: Eddie realised that when Levi hit the top of his vocal range, it sounded like someone hurting, so he made him sing right up there. Levi complained, but we knew he loved it. Every time they thought he was at the top, he would reach a little further until you could hear the tears in his voice. The line "Just look over your shoulder" was something he threw in spontaneously. Levi was very creative like that, always adding something extra from the heart.12 Personnel Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr. Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier Category:1966 songs Category:1966 singles Category:1971 singles Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles Category:Four Tops songs Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Category:Michael Bolton songs Category:Motown singles Category:Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Category:Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Category:Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson Category:Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles